Minus Imran?

The passing of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial budget for FY2025–26 has turned into an unflattering spectacle for the PTI, exposing the rather deep divisions within its ranks as well as the party’s persistent inability to develop a coherent post-Imran strategy. The controversy, triggered by the ‘hasty’ passage of the KP budget allegedly without the blessing of PTI founder Imran Khan, has spiraled into a theatre of the absurd. On one end, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has defended the move as a constitutional necessity to avert a crisis — a position that is technically sound and politically unavoidable. On the other end, party stalwarts including General Secretary Salman Akram Raja and even Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan have publicly disapproved of the move, claiming it undermines Imran’s authority and signals a creeping ‘minus Imran’ campaign.

The statement that “minus Imran has happened” is symbolically devastating for a party that has always presented itself as an extension of Imran Khan’s persona. In a party where loyalty to the leader often supersedes institutional thinking, this remark perhaps was not the wisest move. But what’s more troubling is what it reflects: a growing disconnect between the PTI's internal factions and an unwillingness to adapt to shifting political realities. Whether one agrees with Gandapur or not, his core argument — that passing a budget is not optional — is difficult to dispute. No provincial government can afford to wait for a go-